Sand beetle

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Sand beetle
Sand beetle

Sand beetle

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Family : Water beetles (Hydrophilidae)
Subfamily : Small water beetle (Hydrochinae)
Genre : Sand beetle
Scientific name
Georissus
Latreille , 1809
Georissus crenulatus

The water mud beetles ( Georissus ) represent a species with few species within the family of the water beetles (Hydrophilidae).

features

The representatives of this group are very small, with heights between 1.0 and 2.1 millimeters. The body is compact and plump. This is underlined by the fact that the bell-shaped pronotum and the wing covers ( elytra ) are strongly pulled down at the sides and partially cover the underside of the body. The head is inclined downwards over 90 ° to the body axis so that the mouthparts point slightly backwards. The antennas are turned in front of the eyes. They consist of nine members, the fourth is straight and the last three antennae members form a club. They can be placed in a pit located on the underside of the body in the bent sides of the pronotum. The wing covers show clear rows of dots. The monochrome black chitin armor is robust. The legs are also strong and all the tarsi are four-limbed, the claws short and delicate. The wings are often regressed.

Way of life

The beetles live on fine sandy and muddy banks of water. As a rule, they are covered with encrusted mud and therefore appear brown. They eat the bank mud and feed on its organic components. The larvae live in the mud about an inch below a layer of soil overgrown with algae. They also feed on mud.

Systematics

The genus Georissus is represented in Europe with five species and was originally assigned to its own family, the Georyssidae. The spelling Georyssus is a synonym .

  • Georissus (Georissus) crenulatus (Rossi, 1794)
  • Georissus (Georissus) substriatus Heer, 1841
  • Georissus (Neogeorissus) caelatus Erichson, 1847
  • Georissus (Neogeorissus) costatus Laporte de Castelnau, 1840
  • Georissus (Neogeorissus) laesicollis Germar, 1831

swell

  1. ↑ Georissus Latreille 1809. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on November 28, 2007 .
  2. ↑ Joy, KW Harde, GA Lohse: Die Käfer Mitteleuropas, Vol. 6 . Spectrum Academic Publishing House in Elsevier 1966, ISBN 3-8274-0683-8

literature

  • Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. Volume 3 p. 165, KG Lutz, Stuttgart 1911
  • Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. 5 volumes, Stuttgart KG Lutz 1908 - 1916, digital library volume 134, Directmedia Publishing GmbH, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89853-534-7

Web links

Commons : Muddy Beetle ( Georissus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files